Aliko Dangote breaks silence on NUPENG’s demands

Nigerian billionaire businessman, Aliko Dangote, has broken his silence on the brewing dispute between his company and the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) over the right of employees to unionise.

Speaking at the Dangote Refinery in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos, on Monday, Dangote stressed that his company is not against union activities but maintained that workers must have the freedom to choose whether or not to join a union.

“Because we believe that you must have engaged in starting a negotiation prior to the time the bubble burst. And everybody is now going haywire. I mean, somebody is trying to speak, somebody is not speaking,” he said.

Dangote faulted the timing of the union’s announcement, which coincided with a national holiday.

“They waited, and so, when the government declared holidays for Friday, the Mouloud holiday, they made their announcement Thursday night. So there was even no room for negotiation,” he explained.

The business magnate insisted his company offers better welfare packages than many in the industry, pointing to provisions such as health insurance, accident cover, housing loans, pensions, and medical care.

“Our own interest is the common man. Most of our drivers are not union. They want to be independent, because we make sure they earn a living wage.”

He also highlighted the dignity of labour his system affords workers, saying, “So for the first time, a Nigerian will say to his children, I’m a truck driver. And he’s proud to say he’s a truck driver. Because he earns a living while he can send his children to school.”

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Tribune Online reports that NUPENG recently accused Dangote’s management of violating a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed earlier this month.

The agreement, reached after the intervention of regulators, the Department of State Services (DSS), and government officials, gave workers two weeks to unionise and barred any victimisation of union members.

NUPENG also alleged that drivers were ordered to remove union stickers from their trucks, a move the union insisted contravened the deal. The union warned of possible strike action if the MoU is not honoured.

In response, Dangote maintained his company’s position of neutrality. “We are not against union. We want to live side by side with them. They can be union, we are non-union. We don’t have any problem with that. They are welcome to come here and do their business,” he said.

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